Chapter 320: I Hit Someone

Standing next to the trailer, Matthew rested one hand on the carriage while holding his phone with the other, speaking to Helen Herman on the other end, "The production is going smoothly. If all goes well, we should wrap up by the end of the month. Have you communicated with Disney Studios yet?"

He glanced to his left where Charlize Theron had approached Stuart Townsend. The two seemed to be engaged in a conversation, but because they were some distance away and spoke softly, Matthew couldn't hear clearly.

From the expressions on both Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend's faces, it looked like a dispute was brewing.

Although Matthew had conspired with Elena Boyar on a few matters, he felt that it would take a few more days of provocation to truly be effective.

Matthew continued speaking into the phone, "Helen, remember to schedule a meeting with Zack Snyder for me—"

Suddenly, the situation with Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend escalated.

"I don't need your pity!"

Stuart Townsend's voice abruptly rose in anger, his tone filled with indignation, "You never consider my dignity, you—"

Hearing the word beginning with "B," Matthew and Helen Herman hurriedly wrapped up their call as he moved toward the altercation.

He had just taken a step when Stuart Townsend raised his arm.

Smack—

Stuart Townsend's hand struck Charlize Theron's face.

Charlize stood there motionless, just staring back at Stuart Townsend.

Stunned, Matthew quickly hurried over.

By the barricades, the temp worker tasked with keeping reporters at bay gaped in shock.

The nearby security guard couldn't believe what had just occurred.

Outside the set perimeter, a blonde female reporter and a cameraman were wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Is this for real?" the blonde reporter asked the cameraman reflexively, "Did the freeloader just slap Charlize Theron?"

Though shocked, the cameraman didn't stop filming and responded, "Oh God, the world has gone mad!"

Not needing his confirmation, the blonde reporter already believed the scene before her eyes, notorious in Hollywood for his freeloading, Stuart Townsend had actually struck his famous actress girlfriend!

As she watched, Stuart Townsend raised his hand a second time.

From a media interrogation to being blocked by the temp worker, Stuart Townsend was fuming internally with nowhere to vent—until Charlize Theron defied him once again. Unlike the powerless reporters and temp worker, he could vent his frustrations on Charlize.

After the first slap, seeing Charlize's indifferent expression and her eyes growing colder, Stuart Townsend felt like he was looking at the earlier powerless temp worker.

He raised his hand again and struck down.

This wasn't the first time he had done something like this, so Stuart Townsend felt no guilt.

However, as his hand came down, another person rushed from the side and caught his arm, stopping it in mid-air. Stuart Townsend felt as if his wrist was clamped by an iron grip, unable to move.

He turned and saw a familiar, detestable face.

Matthew Horner's face, as fierce as that of a gorilla!

"Sally!" Matthew grabbed Stuart Townsend's arm, turning to look at Charlize, bewildered, "Why?"

Charlize looked indifferently at Stuart Townsend but didn't respond to Matthew's question, merely staring at Stuart Townsend.

Stuart Townsend glared at Matthew and barked, "Let go!"

Around the set perimeter, two TMZ reporters nearly applauded in excitement.

"Big news!" the blonde reporter exclaimed excitedly, "We've really hit the jackpot!"

The cameraman, catching on, said, "The boss told us to provoke Stuart Townsend for a few days by following him around—did she anticipate this?"

The blonde reporter nodded quickly, "The boss is brilliant, no wonder she climbed from a reporter to an executive!"

The cameraman continued filming, commenting, "We only provoked Stuart Townsend once, and he couldn't hold back. Even the boss underestimated him."

"Probably he has poor psychological resilience," the blonde reporter observed, making her judgment, "It must not be the first time he's hit Charlize Theron."

Seeing Matthew wasn't letting go, Stuart Townsend's rage ignited fully. He tried to free his arm but couldn't escape Matthew's iron grip.

"F#$@!"

He cursed, balling his other hand into a fist and throwing a punch at Matthew's face.

"Matthew!"

Charlize instinctively warned.

Matthew saw the incoming punch. Stuart Townsend's punch was pale, slow, and weak compared to those of his boxing coach, Nabila.

He wondered about Stuart Townsend's mindset. Charlize had far surpassed him in achievements. If he couldn't accept that, why not just break up? Why resort to this? Was it because Charlize provided him a lavish lifestyle?

While these thoughts flickered through his mind, Matthew's actions were swift. His free hand caught Stuart Townsend's fist, and with a

 twist of his body, he used a shoulder throw he frequently practiced.

Being significantly stronger and larger than the more effeminate Stuart Townsend, Matthew easily flung him over his head.

Stuart Townsend had no chance to resist; he felt his feet lift off the ground, and then his back slammed hard onto the ground.

Fortunately, the area was under construction, not paved with hard cement or asphalt. Even so, Stuart Townsend landed heavily, dizzy and in pain as if all the bones in his back had shattered.

He lay on the ground, about to scream in pain when a rough, rock-like hand clutched his neck, stifling his cry into a gurgling noise.

Matthew, gripping Stuart Townsend's neck with his left hand and pointing with his right, warned, "Sally is my friend! If you dare to lay a hand on her again, I'll break your legs!"

After saying that, his right hand clenched into a fist, hovering right above Stuart Townsend's face.

Stuart Townsend tried to speak but couldn't make a sound.

Charlize finally intervened, pulling at Matthew's right hand, shouting, "Matthew, calm down! Calm down!"

That moment, she remembered Matthew's previous promise to teach Stuart a lesson if he saw him hit her again.

Charlize, a large-framed woman with considerable strength, couldn't budge Matthew's arm and had to raise her voice again, "Matthew, stop!"

Matthew turned to look at Charlize, "Sally, this kind of person..."

Seeing Matthew's fist hadn't fallen, Charlize hurriedly added, "We can talk about this later. Just let him go now, there are paparazzi shooting us."

Matthew had already noticed the two paparazzi from Elena Boyar's team, as well as two crew members keeping an eye on the situation.

He slowly unclenched his fist and released his grip, standing up.

"Cough—cough—"

Stuart Townsend on the ground started coughing.

However, Charlize didn't attend to him but stood there, her eyes shifting between Matthew and Stuart Townsend.

The nearby security guard, recovering from the shock of the Oscar-winning actress being hit by her boyfriend, hurried over to block Stuart Townsend from making another move.

The temp worker also rushed over, now guarding Stuart Townsend instead of the reporters.

TMZ's reporters stood outside the barricade, diligently capturing everything with their cameras.

Stuart Townsend slowly rose from the ground.

The commotion had alerted the crew, and director Doug Liman rushed over first. Seeing the red slap mark on Charlize's face, he exploded in anger.

"Who did this!" he bellowed.

Makeup couldn't cover it, and filming was impossible.

More people arrived, including producer Aziva Gosman.

Aziva Gosman and Doug Liman quickly understood what had happened, and their looks towards Stuart Townsend were filled with hostility.

They didn't care about the personal conflict between Stuart Townsend and Charlize Theron, or even that Stuart Townsend had hit Charlize. That was their private matter.

But Stuart Townsend had marred Charlize's face, disrupting the day's shooting schedule. How would they manage today's planned scenes? The location was only rented for two days, and any delay would disrupt the subsequent shooting schedule, costing time and money.

"Are you okay?" Matthew didn't bother with Stuart Townsend but asked Charlize concernedly, "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He called over his temporary assistant from the crew, "Get a cold towel."

Charlize was well-liked on the set, and many looked at Stuart Townsend with disdain.

In fact, some rumors had already circulated within the industry.

The crew quickly understood what had happened, and their disdain turned to contempt.

Charlize looked at Stuart Townsend, her gaze growing colder.

Matthew also heard, pulling out his phone to send a text to Elena Boyar, then dialed Helen Herman, "Helen, I hit someone."

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